It's hard to explain why this drama has a special place in my heart without giving any spoilers, but I will try my best to convey all my thoughts without giving any unnecessary details.

The first few episodes bombarded me with many plot twists and "shocking revelations" to the point, I started to call the show "soft makjang". So many things happened, I was left in a state of confusion, but it made the show that much better, since the main focus of the drama is the aftermath and the process of healing and re-connecting with the family. We were getting to know the facts with the characters, learning bits and pieces, which helped me empathize with them more. I could understand why they struggled with the new situation, since I myself was confused about what was truly happening.

It touches on subjects such as LGBT, rape (did not happen during the show, but one of the characters was a victim of it, and it played a part in their story), ending a relationship when both sides do not agree on when and how to part ways, misunderstanding based on differences of characters and how you show you care for people.

Through the 3 siblings, we can observe different struggles people face in life. The oldest, Eun Joo and how she always tried to be strong, level headed and control her emotions. The middle sibling Eun Hee, trying to keep the family together and pacify all the sides in times of conflicts, acting as if she is carefree. The youngest Ji Woo, who tries to find himself, learn how to be independent, as he watches his family fight with each other.

I just truly cared for these characters, so when the drama ended, I already missed them. Did I cry? Yes. Not to mention, it has some of the best, natural and well paced romance I watched this year and the best "not a confession" confession scene (you'll know when you see it).

Did anything bother me? Not really. I was not that interested in the Sang Shik and Jin Sook story, and it was the weakest part for me personally, as I was annoyed with some choices both of them were making.

Overall, I have a feeling I might rewatch the show, or at least a few scenes this year. The good set of characters was for sure the core value of it.

Ps. Kim Ji Suk... damn, he fine.

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Not a show you regret watching, but…

You can also just watch a compilation of the best scenes on youtube and get a similar experience. Honestly speaking, I watched it for the enjoyment of flirting between Juns, and not the actual plot.

That’s honestly what the show has to offer - really enjoyable moments with great chemistry. It’s such an unrealistic fanfic scenario with unrealistic casting, but you can still enjoy it, because Choi Jun just delivers with each and every pick up line and obvious flirting.

I don’t really have much to say about the plot, because it does not really exist. Rookie interns doing their rookie work unrealistically well, while one of them gets into a situationship with the team leader. Nothing makes sense, but no one watches it with their brain sharp and focused.

The acting was decent. During the romance scenes the cast did great, some more daily life moments felt awkward.

Overall, I really liked the first two episodes, but later I just needed more than just great chemistry during some scenes to truly keep my interest.

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Fast Food entertainment with a secret ingredient - crack.

This show took me to the times when I was a young teen reading Harlequin Romance and being obsessed over the domineering, rude, but deep DEEP down inside actually good and caring male leads. The best type of trash entertainment anyone can offer.

This is just that, but on screen format. Fang Tian Yi is hot and that’s the main trait this man possesses. That and good kissing skills. Saying Dong Ting Yao is brainless would be an understatement. Girl got so easily manipulated and used - customers at McDonalds have more respect for the workers than the majority of the characters had towards hers. The rest of the characters were just place holding NPCs.

The plot? Nothing made sense - her falling in love, him being surprised she does not trust him, the conspiracy and the barely existing investigation. The level of abuse she faced and always being completely fine the next day.

So how come I binge watch it all in one sitting? Because it’s a good type of trash tv. One that does not pretend to be more. One that is here for your entertainment and your eyes, giving your brain a moment of relaxation since you shouldn’t use it watching it. It’s a makjang, but with more shirtless scenes and abs and less kimchi slaps (but overall slaps it delivers). It’s so dramatic you end up having fun even during the intentionally sad scenes. You are here for chemistry and abs only!

Why does it also work? Because it actually has good acting and production. As cheap and ridiculous the plot is, it’s actually packed in a nice to look at box with pretty costumes, pretty faces, pretty make up, pretty set and pretty abs.

Overall, I think it should have been shorter, but it’s still highly enjoyable. I guess even with my brain off, at some point I just could not take how stupid female lead is. Enough is enough.

Now I regret my choices as I drink my coffee trying to wake up. I’m too old to stay till 3am to watch dramas.

Side note - that one guitar string they kept using, am I the only one who got Chuck Norris vibes from it?

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Chemistry that truly carries the whole show.

Honestly speaking, this is not a special drama in terms of the plot - the light enemies to frenemies to friends to lovers has been done many times, but it’s undeniable the execution here was amazing. Gemini and Fourth are truly the best new BL actors out there.

I have to say, both Tinn and Gun are perfectly written. Tinn has this amazingly goofy side of him that you cannot ignore, you just adore it. Gun is just a walking charm. It’s not all sweet though, and both the characters struggle with some internal issues, but are able to support each other in the best ways possible.

The relationship is simply wholesome. I loved how Tinn was focusing on Gun’s happiness and not just about his goal of dating him. I loved that they actually had a lot of nice conversations and tried to understand each other. I loved the mutual support. With the oversaturation in the BL industry with questionable and toxic stories, this level of understanding and mutual respect was simply refreshing to watch.

That’s for the main couple, what about the side ones? Sadly a bit of a failure. Either the chemistry was just not quite there, or the setup and progression was barely existing. Did I care about any of the side characters? Honestly - no.

Can we also just shortly talk about the mothers in this show? I could not be more happy with what we’ve got. Both Tinn’s and Gun’s mom are amazing in their own way. The drama perfectly showcases how good communication with your child is what builds trust and makes them want to confide in you for support, share their happiness and be honest about their struggles. Sometimes it’s important to take the initiative, but sometimes you have to give your child space and time and let them speak when they are ready, and not when you want to hear the answers.

Tinn's dad too, great person, I wish we got to see more of him.

The plot was great, but I also got a bit bored at some point. I still enjoyed all the adorable moments as I was watching, but I also had to motivate myself to start the episodes in the first place. This show was 90% fluff and 10% content (yes, this is an exaggeration, don’t sue me for it). And with that ratio it should be maybe 8 and not 12 episodes.

That said, there was one thing I will never complain about, no matter how many times it will happen even just as a filler fluff - good hugs. Hugs are underappreciated. Hugs are amazing. Proper hug on screen is at times better than kissing scenes. Melt into these arms and give us all butterflies! My School President definitely delivered in that area.

Fourth’s acting, his cheeky smile and warm gaze… Can we even ask for more? Yes we can, and we got it all - from the light and funny scenes, to more emotional and raw expressions, this boy delivered it all. Gemini also does great with acting. Surprised how well he does subtle comedy. For the rest of the cast - some did better, some did worse. We got the glorious “no tears just squeezing eyes hard” scene.

Production side of it was great. I am so happy to see the improvement in that aspect in the BL industry and the effort in making the show deliver a good storytelling both in writing and in the visual aspects.

Overall, the purest of the fluff. On screen chemistry that will make you jealous of not experiencing it yourself. Great main characters with fun personalities and relatable stories. But sadly also forgettable side characters and subplots there just to feel the screen time and overall repetitiveness of the story.

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That was a proper rom-com with actual plot, good pacing, characters that you learn to appreciate and relationships you root for. That said, it still leaves me craving for more.

I’m not even mad about bls delivering all the cliche tropes, romances based on misunderstanding, the amazing soft angst, the naive lead falling for the grumpy lead that we’ve got in the post from straight romance stories. These plots sell, these plots attract the biggest audience and these plots are simply entertaining. And this is kind of what we’ve got from the Unintentional Love Story.

It was a fun journey to follow. While Ji Won Young was a painfully frustrating character at first, I cannot deny - this child grew on me. Surprisingly, he delivered some of the best and most mature lines out of all the characters. Yoon Tae Joon was one of the soft emo guys that makes your heart ache just the right way. Dong Hee and Ho Tae were rays of sunshine impossible not to love.

Truth to be told, at some point I started to be more curious and invested in this second couple, and I cannot stop myself from being quite disappointed with the lack of screentime and development, and only hope for a separate show that will follow their story.

The quality of acting depends on which actor you will focus on. Personally I enjoyed Han Do Woo's and Won Tae Min's performances the most (which was also one of the reason I enjoyed following their characters’ story more).

Cha Seo Won did an amazing job with the “I’m hurt, but I want to hide it and control my facial expression, but I still need to show it enough for the audience to see” scenes. Moments when we need to both clearly see what emotions the character is feeling, but also understand they want to hide it. On the other hand, Gongchan delivered a deer caught in headlights acting - mostly looking confused or scared with his pretty big eyes.

The kissing was basically like trying to stick two magnets together by the same pole. I could literally see how much force they had to put into getting so close together. I laughed... badly.

Production was great. Vast improvement from many k-bls. Would appreciate a little bit less smoothing filter on the actors’ faces though.

Overall, for such a nice watch. Not as emotionally touching as I wished it would, but something I for sure do not regret watching and would probably recommend others to check out.

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Enjoying the angst that comes from misplaced revenge.

Call It Love was emotionally aesthetically pleasing. What I mean is, even the sadness, anger, frustration, regret - all were presented in a way that did not make me feel emotionally exhausted and tired. I was relating to and appreciating the sorrow.

What the show did an amazing job with was showing different sides of psychological issues - for some people it makes them completely detached from social interaction, for some it makes them forget about their needs, others would focus on the negative emotions as their driving force, some would be able to accommodate their lives around their issues. Depending on the character, their personality and past experiences, we saw all the different sides of how we as humans deal with difficult emotions.

About the cast - we got blessed with some well written and complex characters and well delivered portrayals of them. How the same people could be victims and perpetrators. How everyone had to learn from their mistakes and figure out how to set boundaries, but also respect the boundaries others set. How to understand yourself and be able to communicate with others. How to move on from past, how to move forward with the future, how to find happiness and peace.

Were all the characters well written, with many layers? Not quite. While Ahn Hee Yeon did a good job with her performance, Kang Min Young did not exactly have much to offer except from being yet another external factor the leads had to deal with. Similarly, Choi Sun Woo existed only in the context of leads’ issues and struggles, and presented no personal plotlines.

Cast wise, Kim Young Kwang ate the role. One of the most versatile actors we get in mainstream shows. Can do drama, action, comedy, romance, thriller - you name it and you will get it in one of his roles. In Call It Love he presented so many raw emotions from Han Dong Jin. Even though the character was not an open book, not the most expressive guy out there, it was still clear for the viewers what he was going through, what he was thinking and feeling.

At the same time, while for most scenes Lee Sung Kyung did great (it’s a role we have not seen her in yet), there were just a few moments where her delivery was too monotone and at times felt empty.

As for the production - I loved it, but I can see why someone else could hate it. The colors were not saturated enough and the whole show was presented in this pink/purple filter. For me, it perfectly fitted the overall mood of the drama, adding to the melancholic and stoic feeling. What also caught my attention was how the shots were centered vertically. In many the characters were presented in only 1/3rd of the screen. For me it seemed like the same way they were not centered in the frame, they were also not centered in their lives - still unsure about their place, a bit lost in their surroundings.

All that said, it’s a typical “you either vibe with it or not” drama. The same visual aspects I loved could look ugly and weird for others. The same characters I related to and enjoyed analyzing could be frustrating and unrealistic for others. The same dialogues I found touching, others could see as faking profoundness with no depth.

Why not a perfect 10 from me? I did not like some of the conclusions and I wished a few characters were developed better. For such a complex situation the drama presents, some aspects just lacked nuance.

Overall, I already miss this drama.

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“Even if you failed yesterday, even if you crumbled today, another tomorrow awaits us”

And we did crumble so many times watching this show - all the tears, all the frustration, all the healing after. This show is a long journey and even though at times exhausting, it’s so worth it.

What I really loved about Mental Coach Jegal was the complexity of the characters. The flaws were not just random setbacks - they all had a solid explanation and served as an amazing character development arc. I liked how the show kept reminding us that what we see is neither the beginning nor the end of their journey - they had their own struggles in the past, they have their own motivations for the future, and what we see is just the present self that keeps changing.

It’s like that for Je Gal Kil,Cha Ga Eul, Park Seung Ha, Lee Moo Gyul. There is more to these characters than we initially think. I honestly enjoyed the majority of them from the start, and even Goo Tae Man was impossible to hate.

That said, the character I found difficult to accept at first was Park Seung Ha. I honestly found her more unlikable than the bad guys themselves. It was too hard to ignore the lack of professionalism in her previous conduct in her professional life. The drama is magical though, and I started to appreciate her more and more as the story progressed, and her past actions, while not excused, were explained in a way that I could move on and see her for who she was - a flawed human being, like the rest of the characters.

I think that's the overall positive aspect of the drama - it's rich in different contexts and (both internal and external) factors that influence the characters, and the solution is not easy to find, since no one solution can solve all the problems.

Then we had the villains and antagonists - some better, some worse. I feel like the main villain was underwhelming in terms of the lack of depth. With all the characters being so complex, he just did not fit that picture. As if the last stroke of the brush in a masterpiece was done by a 5 year old child.

Then we have Oh Dal Sung - trash, the truest cockroach of kdramas. At some point I was not even frustrated or angry about his character, I was just tired. I wonder if there was any other way to deal with his story without hurting the overall quality of the plot and other characters’ arcs…

That said, for a show that is focused so much on the internal fights and struggles within the characters’ mentality and approach, the writers did quite a good job with presenting the villains that overall did match the plot and pacing. Although some were more of a plot device, not individual characters, I still found a certain value in the way they were written.

About writing - I don't think I've ever watched a drama where I really wanted to write the quotes down. I’m more of an “appreciating in the moment and moving forward” type of person, but here - the narrations and dialogues were so well written I just had to pause the scene many times and type down the words to share with others. They just hit all the right spots and were relatable on an indescribable level.

“??? ???? ?????? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ???'? ???? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???'?. ???? ?????? ?????? ??? ?? ????, ??????? ??'? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ????? ??????.”

Big picture wise, Mental Coach Jegal addresses many important issues, both specific to the sport related environment, but also the things everyone can experience in their lives. I am amazed how they managed to make it all logical and have a significant impact on the plot and the characters. Without going into any details, the various traumas and issues the characters had to face, different ways they all dealt with them, whenever victims have any responsibility in what happened to them and how they should or should not handle the aftermath, the lack of support, inadequate support, shame, psychological issues - there are so many themes and topics it’s impossible to write them all down. And I honestly feel like the majority of them were dealt with proper respect and maturity from the writers.

To the acting. Jung Woo is a master of chemistry. He truly made a perfect team with each and every character. There was not one interaction he had that felt boring or flat. He could talk to a tree and I would find it the most entertaining thing ever. Him and Kwon Yool are a duo I will miss for weeks. The way he found a perfect balance between the comedy and seriousness, how Jegal was both eccentric and relatable. I am truly amazed.

I expected a phenomenal performance from Lee Yoo Mi and it is what I’ve got. I started the show because of her and I was not disappointed. She perfectly embodied the idea of someone being both vulnerable and strong.

All the rest of the cast did an incredible job. I cannot think of one performance or scene that was lacking in any aspect.

The production had a similar effect on me as the writing - I could not stop myself from screenshotting. I especially liked the use of the wide shots - they often looked like beautiful paintings.

All that said, the drama was not perfect, even if at times it felt like it is. Few things that could have been improved and can be seen as flaws.

First of all, Je Gal was introduced as a famous mental coach and writer. He was not a nobody, he was like a celebrity. But his fame was downplayed and non-existent after just a few episodes. I feel like him having rather high social status would be an issue for the plot to unfold the way it did, so that fact was just… ignored and removed from the equation.

Rather poorly done transition between the leading genres/plots. At first the show was more or less a sports slice of life with comedy. At some point it changed into a political drama with comedy, and that transition was not done smoothly. You can literally tell which episode is the turning point and it’s a clear cut deal. I did not mind where the plot went, it made sense. I was bothered with how it was executed.

Not utilizing enough “No gold medal” club. I feel like they either should have been even more in the background, or more prominent. They were neither the supporting characters, nor just a filler background - somewhere in the middle that I could not get attached enough to truly care about, but also not insignificant to just accept whatever happens to them. Since I loved each and every character in that group, I did wish we had seen more of them, especially in the middle part of the show.

Some questionable relationship developments I could do without. While they made sense character wise, I also felt like they were not truly needed plot wise. I could understand why they happened, but I also asked myself - did it have to happen?

To sum it up - it was not a perfect show, but for me it was close to perfection. By the end, I was so attached to the characters I honestly feared the day the show would end. I was not ready to say goodbyes.

I think a great show is not a perfect show, since these don’t exist, but one that makes you ignore/forget the flaws. They seem so insignificant compared to all the positive aspects, you just don’t mind them. Mental Coach Jegal did it for me. And I’m known for complaining about the most minor details ever. Mental Coach Jegal had some convenient solutions by the end, but I can’t bring myself to lower the rating, even if some aspects were not perfect in my book.

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When the mains deliver, but the setup is underwhelming…

I’m not gonna pretend like I started this drama with hopes of getting a high quality inspirational tale of overcoming your struggles, finding support in people around you, dealing with your trauma and fears, but I am glad the drama delivered in that area. Why did I start it though? For Lee Yang Seob’s face, and his face only. And here I also got what I asked for - damn he looks fine.

Here’s the thing, My Lovely Boxer is just a drama that completely lacks balance. It switches between a heartwarming slice of life focused on the character development and makjang mafia and I’m just confused why. The whole rigged bets set up was so underdeveloped, overdramatic and distracting, I’m here asking - was there really no better way to force Tae Young and Gwon Sook into working together? Every time the focus shifted towards Kim Oh Bok I wanted to scream “NO ONE CARES!”.

If only we’ve got more information about him, if they actually tried to develop the main villain into a complex and interesting character. But no, he was there as the most cliche and empty plot device and I’m not happy. And he is not the only bad character that sucked writing wise - same goes for Gwon Sook’s father. I am sorry, but his crimes were too severe for an off-screen character development. I’m not buying it. You cannot give a character off screen development and then act as if it’s all good, it’s not.

That said, I did enjoy most of the plots not related to the bets and the father in any meaningful way. The development of trust and support between Tae Young and Gwon Sook was amazing. Her dealing with her past and being strong enough to face it - great. Every friendship she makes - loved it. Wish we'd seen more Han Ah Reum, since for me she was one of the more relatable and interesting characters.

Acting truly varied depending on the actor. Both Lee Sang Yeob and Kim So Hye did an amazing job portraying the main characters. On the other hand, Kim Jin Woo did not impress me with his delivery. Random observation, but there were also two extra actors in the last episode playing members of the rigged bets ring, and let me tell you, that was some high level of wooden acting and robot delivery.

Production value was fine. There were some editing issues - hands positions not matching between cuts, but nothing too in your face. Pretty much a standard Korean drama quality.

Overall, it was a fine watch I don’t regret finishing, but you would also not catch me recommending it to others.

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The almighty pen.

From a writing perspective, it’s closer to a 7.5, but I had so much fun, I cannot rate it lower than 8.5. It was quite an exciting watch, delivering all types of frustration and thrills, but ending on a rather mediocre note.

Honestly speaking, the first half of the show was a good 10/10. It had everything one might want from a show like this - cute fighter, psycho brain, cinnamon roll who just wants to help. We’ve also got all the blood, pain, violence and the main character - the pen! I was eating it all up, could not stop watching and barely stopped myself from screaming at my laptop.

So what happened in the 2nd half? The drama changed from more plot/action driven to character driven… and it focused on the character I honestly cared the least about. With each and every scene I just started to hate him more and more. For all the buildup, all the tension, all the accumulated frustration in me, I was not delivered a proper closure. I understand it will have a second season, but even with that, rather than being excited and hopeful the drama left me fearful if they will deliver a more proper ending this time. I don’t want to dive into it and get a half baked potato with the last scene.

That said, the show presented a glorious friendship/bromance between Shi Eun and Soo Ho and I could not ask for more on that part. Both characters perfectly played off of each other's traits and the dynamic was just fun to watch. They were perfect partners in crime.

Oh Beom Seok was a complicated character and I don’t think the director quite well delivered what they planned with him. I feel like there was something missing with the way his character was developed. For such complex internal and external struggles, I was completely indifferent to whatever was happening to him - which is ridiculous as he is the center of last 4 episodes.

Plot wise, saying this drama lacks realism would be a massive understatement. Some scenes were so ridiculous and over the top I was just laughing. At times it was even hard to feel bad for these kids, because the situations they were in just made little sense. And this is one of the reasons I enjoyed the show. I watched it for the over the top scenarios. I wanted excitement and hype, and not pain and anxiety. That said - fear not, Weak Hero Class 1 still manages to create decent stakes and make you care for the characters, even if your brain sees the nonsense happening on the screen.

I appreciate how the drama tried to showcase what happens when someone is in a circle of violence. What they missed is to show why some characters were able to get out of it, while others got swallowed deeper and deeper.

Production value was good. Loved the fighting scenes, and loved the different approach the characters had to them. They delivered realistic blood and realistic amounts of it - someone gets punched, they will bleed, but ain’t no bloody waterfalls going on. Some scenes were quite aesthetically pleasing, though I wished they included more visual symbolism here. This is something I felt like the drama lacked.

The acting was the one that surprised me the most, on the positive note. I knew Park Ji Hoon is good and that's why I am even more amazed he delivered even more than I expected. This type of character so so easy to mess up. To create the aura of intimidation, you need some skills. to make him look empathic on top of that, is even harder. And Ji Hoon managed to do it all.

Choi Hyun Wook was honestly adorable. That said, I kind of felt like this is more violet, better at fighting version of the character he played in 2521.

Hong Kyung did a great job with the character he was given. Even if the writing for him felt rushed, he did great at portraying the change and desperation.

Overall, fun, violent and exciting. The characters were interesting, some more and some less likable. The conclusions for specific plots and situations could have been better. Perfect binge watch material.

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Well written romance with questionable friendships.

One of the most wholesome friends to enemies to friends to lovers scenario I have seen. I believed in everything that happened between Pran and Pat. The chemistry might not have been sizzling from the start, but it was undeniable and extremely natural as the plot progressed. Both Nanon and Ohm did an amazing job portraying actual emotions and love, instead of simple attraction.

That said, almost everything that surrounded the romance was mediocre at best, and bad at worst. The friend groups were ridiculous. It was not just teens disliking each other - we had harassment and abuse that could not be explained by them being young. The parents were just as immature and selfish, which led to a number of problems for the main duo.

Luckily, a lot of scenes were saved thanks to the female characters Pa and Ink, who seemed to be the only people with some brain cells and willing to use them.

Bad Buddy was carried on Nanon and Ohm’s backs, and if it was not for their stellar performance, it would not get half of the love from the audience. Me, and many others were willing to ignore quite a number of flaws, because what these two actors did not screen was worth it.

Another great aspect of the show was the OST. Not only were all the songs perfectly fitted for the scenes, but also… they are simply great songs that I wanted to listen to even outside of the drama.

The production value was definitely good. I loved the set design, the filming and editing. Sadly, I feel like all the focus and hard work directing and writing wise were put into making the romance storyline, forgetting that all the supporting characters are also what make the show. The pacing of all the side plots was not great and some conflicts had a Disney type of resolution.

Overall, worth the watch for the main couple. Truly amazed by the skills of Nanon and Ohm. Even with at times questionable writing, they made me enjoy the show and giggle more than once from both the comedy and the romance.

Bad Buddy was a bit like taking a walk in a beautiful mountain, but then seeing trash here and there, that’s just slightly ruining the view. Then you get to the top, but it's a restricted area… that sums up how I feel about the ending.

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Uncanny in all the best ways. Painful in the most beautiful ways.

Not gonna lie - the whole show made me feel extremely uncomfortable more than once. Escapism in the purest and scariest form. Heaven never sounded more like hell. The truth is, happiness only exists in contrast to sadness. You can only cherish what will eventually cease to exist.

Sci-fi is a genre that’s extremely hard to ace. You either don’t get enough information to understand it and get immersed in the created world, or the creators overexplain everything, and it seems like a wikipedia page. Yonder managed to keep the balance from start till the end. They gave enough exposition through dialogues to make sense of the sci-fi elements, but they also used a lot of visuals and simple storytelling to explain and expand the rest.

The core of the show though is its philosophical theme centering around happiness, grief and meaning of existence. My brain hurts after watching it. It invites you to dwell on so many complex issues that are hard to grasp just by watching - it made me want to think about them more, even after the episodes ended. What is happiness? How can we achieve it? What gives life meaning? How to deal with grief? Can one get prepared for death? Not to mention the whole ethical side of exploiting people’s pain dressed up as compassion and the selfish and egocentric side of humans.

On the storytelling side - they did an amazing job with pacing. Each scene was meaningful, nothing was dragged, almost nothing felt rushed (on that “almost” under spoiler comment below). The show just flows so well. I would say, it seems better as a binge watch, treating it like a long movie. The breaks between episodes might slightly take one out of the immersion. I honestly regret starting it right when it aired, instead of watching it all when it finished.

Performances - from phenomenal to not memorable. That said, some characters were not exactly written with much depth, and only served a purpose of pushing the plot forward (mostly Hacker Park and the doctor working with them).

Shin Ha Kyun… This man. How is this even possible for him to keep surprising me with his skill? Where’s the limit to his talent? No words to describe his delivery of the character.

The choice of the songs perfectly elevated all the scenes. Did I cry? Yes, many times.

Production value was top notch. Yonder is like a beautiful art piece. Loved everything - the angles, the lighting and use of colors, the proper use of close up and slow motion, the camera rotation that were never overused. The subtle and well designed special effects.

There was one element of the conclusion/reveal by the end that I did not exactly like. It was well written and integrated to the story - it was just my personal preference for the show not to include it. I like when the shows that create an existential crisis in me keep things more open and vague - left to my own personal interpretation. But what I’ve got was a more solid answer to one question, that somehow felt like a contradiction.

Overall, I truly loved it. It’s for sure a show that needs to be analyzed and watched with brain on. Not because it’s so complex plot wise, or hard to understand. Rather, because it tackles many serious issues and questions that are worth asking yourself, and finding out what is your answer.

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In a circle we run, away from a cheeky teenager.

If you are ready for a whole lot of frustration, running in a circle, kids being scary straightforward and adults acting like shy teenagers - this is a perfect watch for you.

Here’s the thing - it was so exciting, fun and enjoyable at first. Being more or less the same age as Minato, I could easily understand his panic about starting to have feelings for a high schooler. Even the idea is scary. That said, I feel like they failed with Minato writing wise, since he just... existed and everything was happening around him. The guy did not try to process it at all and it left the viewers with repetitive scenes and plots, since nothing was changing character wise.

Shin was saving grace with his pro flirting, honesty and undying motivation to make Minato his. He was far more dynamic of a character, actually showing some change in his behavior depending on the situation and the circumstances.

There were also a few nice side characters like Sakurako and Asuka who added some wholesome platonic moments to this romance driven show.

Plot wise, we've got whole side plot of Sakuma Takayuki which was stretched so bad, taking too much screen time and becoming quite an annoying addition to the drama. The teacher might have been the sweetest dude ever, but that plot should have been resolved in 2 episodes max.

Performance wise I do not have any complaints. Kusakawa Takuya did his best with Akira - the character was just not it writing wise. Nishigaki Sho truly impressed me. He did quite well with some more subtle emotions and perfectly presented the angst related to the first big teenage love.

Production wise, it gave a high budget since of life webdrama vibes - which personally I truly love.

Overall, I am honestly not sure how I feel about it. On paper it works, but when I watched it, I was getting either frustrated or bored, and I was wishing for the show to finally end. I don’t regret watching, but I’m also not sure if I would recommend it for others to check out. I also crave second season or at least a special episode, because the payoff after all the running away was quite short-lived.

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Right or wrong is only a matter of perspective.

I love a show that makes me engaged. That makes me think and question presented topics. That makes me want to think how I would react if I was presented with the same ideas, what would be my questions and doubts, and who would I side with. That makes me analyze the statements of the characters trying to figure out what flaws they might have, and in what aspects they are correct. Three-Body is all that.

I saw quite a number of people say that you need to be patient with this show to enjoy it. I would honestly disagree. Being patient means you need to tolerate something negative, and I see no such a thing in the show. Slow pace? For me it added to the charm of it. The even pacing, how each time they dropped a new hint, they added a few more questions, the mystery of it all, the lack of answers - for me, these are exactly the things I loved about it. So if someone finds these annoying, I don’t think any level of patience will make them like Three-Body in the end.

My favorite aspect of the drama was how it exposed the limits of human’s perception and cognition. How limited we are by our beliefs, hopes, motives, experiences and even biological aspects. We are painfully biased towards our own species. But it also shows how normal that is and that it can be, at least to some extent, overcome.

Not to mention the diversity of the characters in terms of their personalities, motivations, moralities. It’s truly an art how they slowly showed all the layers of the characters, their perspectives and plans. It was a perfectly crafted journey. They knew exactly when to disclose different information to keep the interest of the viewers.

How hard is it to understand the show? I’m not gonna lie, it’s not an easy watch, but that comes from someone who knows exactly nothing about physics. I had to rewatch a few scenes to understand the theories, some google searches also helped. All that is not needed to get the big picture, but it adds to the viewing experience.

Were there any things that bothered me or could potentially bother others? Yes. Since the drama invites you to analyze everything and pay attention to all the details, it’s also easier to pick up some inconsistencies. That said, a lot of them can be excused by the unreliable narrator at any given moment and their own goals in sharing some, but not all information, and at times even distorting it.

What’s more - we don’t get clear cut answers for a lot of questions asked. Some of it might be the result of the drama being based on just the first book in the trilogy, but some seem to be left vague with no hope for solid answers even in next installments. I can clearly see how this could piss off many people, me being weird, I actually enjoyed it. The fact that I had to form my own theories on why some things happened based on the hints and bits of information was an additional entertainment for me.

There were two moments in the drama that made me go: okay, that’s dumb. That said, two scenes in 30 episodes is a ration of dumbness I can easily ignore.

Last criticism I have is the whole existence of Mu Xing - she did not bring anything new or important to the table. She did not offer an interesting perspective nor a unique take on the events happening. She was there as a plot device and I find it a bit disappointing.

For the performances - some were better than others, but all were great. Chen Jin and Wang Zi Wen did an amazing job portraying the same characters in different moments of her life. You can see the changes in her, but she still seems like the same person. I loved Yu He Wei as Shi Qiang and he easily became my favorite character. I loved his bond with Wang Miao, and even though they could not exist in more different worlds, they formed a perfect partnership.

One performance that seemed a bit flat was Li Xiao Ran as Shen Yu Fei - she was supposed to be this driven woman with a mission, but she overall just seemed numb and detached.

The production value was perfection. I truly have zero complaints. I loved the small animation bits explaining the Farmer and Shooter theories, I loved the game graphics, I loved the set designs. I especially loved everything about how the past story was presented. So many aesthetically beautiful moments.

Talking about Three-Body, I need to mention the soundtrack. I was in awe from the first seconds of any of the songs and even just the ambient sounds used for many scenes. It added so much to the storytelling and perfectly built the atmosphere.

Overall, I could not recommend it more if you like complex stories that require full attention and some additional brainpower for theory making, since they don’t really spoon feed you all the answers. How much you can enjoy the show depends on how much you are motivated to figure out the mystery and story behind the characters.

Ps. Can it be viewed as stand alone? Kind of. Depends on how much of a closure you are expecting.
Ps 2. I need 2nd season yesterday.

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I love Sang Ha, I do, but this was painfully mediocre.

My biggest problem was how Sang Ha's story and the romance were disconnected. They felt like two different shows. We had fun comedy and fluff between main leads, and punches and threats with debt collectors. Both put next to each other just didn't click well, since they almost always were presented separately.

The characters were also quite a mess. Sang Ha and Jin Woo had both half a brain cell that they must have shared. The bad guys told you they will ruin Jin Won's chance to win by throwing water at him? You tell Jin Won about it. It's that simple. It's not like his debt was a secret. They could have easily prevented it from happening, without Sang Ha going after first place (good for him tho). Why did he even cut contact with Jin Won after the marathon? His whole logic for winning and paying the debt was to protect Jin Won and be able to keep running with him (as he "passionately" screamed at his face in the last episode)... but then he just left? LoGiC.

Jin Won with the whole "go buy yourself proper new running shoes" when Sang Ha already told him he is running early mornings to deliver milk, because he ain't got money, but he needs to pay the debt. Something didn't click right in Jin Won's brain I guess. Not to mention that punch in the last episode. WHERE THE HECK IT CAME FROM? Not once they hinted that Jin Won might be a one to react aggressively with physical force. And here he is punching a kid in the face. This is called bad writing, ladies and gentlemen.

The debt storyline was truly the worst part that ruined the whole show for me. Why they couldn't keep it simple with a sweet romance is beyond me. The debt collectors went from punching the kid in the face, to crying when he finally paid it off, giving some bullshit, out of place, emotional reaction. Not to mention, apparently in Korea, when your parents die when you are in middle school, you don't go to an orphanage or foster family. You are left alone to deal with it... Go figure

It had some cute moments, I'm not gonna lie, but instead of watching the whole show, you could watch the highlights on youtube. Even the last scene had to be ruined by making them run in semi formal clothes ON A DATE. We get it, they are runners. Damn the writers... Why?

Get rid of the debt angst story, use the few minutes you gained to develop the relationship a bit more, and it would be easily 9/10 for me.

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No logic, no cohesiveness, no brain… and I have no self respect for watching this.

When watching this movie, every new revelation made me ask one simple question “why?” - everything about the characters, their relationship and plot progression was so unnatural all I could do was laugh about the piling up cliches.

Alpha male with a soft heart and an innocent kid with a warm nature will give you a second hand embarrassment with every little ridiculous interaction and painful dialogues. Who needs decent writing when you can just throw poorly executed cliches at your audience?

And the ending? I don’t think I would manage to write something similar even on crack. What happened? How high were the characters? How high was the writer? It took me 30 minutes to finish the last 10 minutes. I kept pausing because my brain could not take this level of prolonged idiocy.

Acting wise… I think it’s time for me to leave the delulu land and admit Zee is not really a good actor, he is just good at delivering heart eyes. It truly pains me to say, since I basically wrote an essay about how amazing of an actor with great potential he has 4 years ago. On the other hand NuNew did quite well trying to deliver good performance even though the script made it an impossible task.

Overall, I regret watching it alone. I think this is a perfect title to group watch and joke about all the stuff that makes no sense. The movie truly invites you to rant your heart out.

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